The present invention relates to a color facsimile apparatus for transmitting image data obtained by color reading a color original paper after being color encoding and for color printing received data.
The provisions of color facsimile apparatus are present under ITU-T Recommendation 81. The color facsimile apparatus is proceeding toward practical utilization in accordance with the provisions.
In color image data, which the color facsimile apparatus processes, a size of a data item is generally large. This causes problems, e.g., a memory for storing data is liable to overflow, a large amount of time is required to perform data receiving and transmitting and printing and outputting, a large quantity of color printing material (ink) consumed is needed, etc.
The following will specifically explain the troubles caused by the above problems.
First, there is an ink jet printing method as a method for printing received data in the color facsimile apparatus. This method is used in an ink jet printer, and ink of the respective colors of C (Cyan), M (Magenta), Y (Yellow) and K (Black) in an ink tank is discharged onto a printing paper to perform the printing. Normally, ink of the respective colors of C (Cyan), M (Magenta), Y (Yellow) is uniformly prepared.
However, receiving and transmitting color data is not uniformly prepared in its color. As a result, in many cases, any one of color ink is first used up in the facsimile apparatus. Since the color original paper has a large amount of data, ink is easily used up, and the normal color printing cannot be performed when the absence of ink occurs.
Unlike the ink jet printer, in the facsimile apparatus, an operator on a transmitting side cannot know the remaining quantity of ink. Due to this, in some cases, ink is used up during the receiving and transmitting, or ink is already used up before the start of receiving and transmitting. In this case, even if the absence of ink occurs in the receiver, a sender often takes it for granted that the transmission is normally received only if the transmission normally ended. This causes troubles relating to the completion of transmission and that of reception.
The following methods are present in order to take measurements against the case in which the absence of ink occurs in the facsimile apparatus.
First, there is prior art disclosed in, for example, un-examined Japanese Patent Publication NO.7-46417. According to this prior art, if any one of color ink is absent, the printing is performed using another color ink.
However, it is originally unfavorable that the printing is performed using another color ink. In the case of the facsimile apparatus, even if the receiver receives a printing paper of a color different from the transmitted original paper, there is a possibility that the receiver will not notice the reception. In view of this point, there is prepared an economy mode in which the consumption of color ink is low in the ink jet printer. The economy mode is that the amount of discharging ink as a whole is reduced as the operator confirms the content of the original paper, with the result that time elapsing before the absence of ink can be prolonged.
However, the facsimile apparatus cannot print and output received data while the operator on the receiving side is conforming received data before the printing and outputting data. As a result, it is difficult to change the mode to the economy mode in accordance with the content of the received content.
Next, there is a method using a receiving memory. More specifically, according to this method, when the absence of ink occurs, the printing and outputting of the received data is prohibited and all received data is stored in the receiving memory. Then, stored data is output after replenishing the ink tank with ink.
However, since there is a limitation in the memory capacity, the memory for storing received data overflows, so that received data may be lost. Particularly, when received data is color data whose size is large, the overflow is liable to occur.
In order to deal with this problem, there is prior art disclosed in, for example, Japanese un-examined Japanese Patent Publication NO.8-79543. According to this prior art, when the remaining quantity of the memory capacity for storing received data is below a fixed value, color data already stored is converted to monochromatic data to be printed and output and the color data stored in the memory is erased. Thereby, a memory space area is reserved. However, according to this method, though the overflow of the memory can be avoided, there is a disadvantage in which whether the received data is color data or monochromatic data cannot be determined.
Secondly, the color facsimile apparatus have come into wide use gradually. However, most of the facsimile apparatus, which are put on the market, are ones that receive and transmit the monochromatic images. An operator of the color facsimile apparatus must perform the communication on the assumption of the following two cases. Specifically, one is that the receiver is the facsimile apparatus having a function of receiving color images and the other is that the receiver is the facsimile apparatus having a function of receiving only the monochromatic image. Consequently, the operation becomes complicated. In other words, whether the receiver corresponds to the former case or the latter case is clarified by exchanging a capability notice in the communication procedure after a call is established. For this reason, the operator cannot know the function of the receiver at time of reading and storing original paper, which is before the start of the communication procedure. Therefore, in order to avoid the occurrence of a non-communicating state, the operator must select whether color data is color coded and stored or monochromatically coded and stored in advance, depending on the counterpart.
Thirdly, there is a case in which color data and monochromatic data are mixed in one communication. If color data and monochromatic data are separately transmitted, the transmission operation becomes further complicated, and the entire transmission process amounts to a considerable long period of time. In order to deal with this problem, there is prior art disclosed in, for example, un-examined Japanese Patent Publication NO.7-283951. According to this prior art, whether the original paper is color or monochromatic is determined after reading the original paper for transmission. Then, an encoding process is executed in accordance with the result of the determination. According to this technique, the operator""s load can be somewhat reduced. However, since the determination process is performed after scanning the original paper, and the encoding process is further executed, a large amount of time is required when the transmission process is executed.
The present invention is provided to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems of the color facsimile apparatus and to improve the operability of the color facsimile apparatus as a whole.
More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide a color facsimile apparatus, which reduces an amount of ink consumption to prevent an absence of ink.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a color facsimile apparatus being capable of obtaining excellent received data even if an absence of ink occurs. More specifically, even if the absence of ink occurs and data is printed and output with ink of a different color, whether transmitting original data is color or monochromatic can be determined.
Further another object of the present invention is to provide a color facsimile apparatus being capable of transmitting data to either one of the color facsimile apparatus and the monochromatic facsimile apparatus by a simple operation and for a short period of time.
The above object can be attained by the color facsimile apparatus comprising communication result report generating means for synthesizing a part of unsent image data with communication result data of the communication so as to be output, and data converting means for converting the part of the color image data to monochromatic image data so as to generate image data to be synthesized with the transmission result report when the unsent image data is color image data.
In this case, it is preferable that the data converting means extract only G component data as a part of RGB component data of color image data so as to be converted to monochromatic data.
According to the above-mentioned structure, when the transmission of color image data is not normally ended, the communication report is converted to monochromatic data to be output, so that the amount of color printing material consumed can be reduced. This results in a large effect on particularly the reduction of the quantity of the ink consumption in the apparatus using color ink for printing. Moreover, since the output is performed with monochromatic data, data can be printed and output for a short period time as compared with the case of outputting color data. Therefore, time when the communication result report output process occupies a printing section can be reduced to the maximum, and this operation improves an efficiency of using the apparatus.
Also, the above-mentioned object can be attained by the color facsimile apparatus comprising a memory for storing received color image data sequentially, printing means for reading color image data from the memory and printing the color image data with printing material of a plurality of colors, and controlling means for converting the color image data to image data of a single color to be printed by the printing means when any one of the printing material is used up and for displaying data, showing that the received image data has been color image data, on a printing paper.
In this case, when the remaining quantity of the memory capacity is below a fixed value, the color image data may be converted to image data of a single color to be printed. Also, data, showing that the received image data has been color image data, may be displayed on a printing paper other than a page on which image data is printed.
Moreover, controlling means can avoid the overflow of the memory by erasing the color image data stored in the memory after the color image data is converted to the image data of a single color and printed by printing means.
By receiving an operator""s instruction before the remaining quantity of the memory capacity is below the fixed value, the color image data stored in the memory may be converted to the image data of the single color to be printed by printing means. In this case, it is unnecessary to display data, showing that the received image data has been color image data. The operator, who instructs the data printing and outputting, knows that the image stored in the memory is the color image.
According to the above-mentioned structure, even if the absence of the printing material occurs, the printing and outputting can be performed without losing the received data. Also, the outline data of original image data can be obtained with a simple structure. Moreover, by adding a comment showing conversion data to monochromatic data, the receiver can understand that the original has been color data.
Further, the above-mentioned object can be attained by the color facsimile apparatus comprising a memory for storing mixed image data having both color image data and monochromatic image data; determination means for determining the presence of a color printing capability of a transmission counterpart in the course of the communication procedure; read controlling means for reading all mixed image data from the memory when the determination means determines that the transmission counterpart has the color printing capability and for reading only the monochromatic image data when the determination means determines that the transmission counterpart has no color printing capability; and transmitting means for transmitting image data read by the read controlling means to the transmission counterpart.
In this case, the transmitting means has multi destination transmission control means so that either of color/monochromatic data may be selectively transmitted, depending on the receiving capability of the communication counterpart.
The mixed image data may be mixed image data of each page or mixed image data of a row unit in one page.
According the above-mentioned structure, the normal color transmission can be performed to the counterpart that is capable of color printing, and only the monochromatic portion of the original paper can be transmitted to the counterpart that is not capable of color printing. Therefore, according to the latter, the minimum amount of image data can be transmitted.
Moreover, the above-mentioned object can be attained by the color facsimile apparatus comprising designating means for designating either a color transmission or a monochromatic transmission; storing means for encoding image data obtained by reading an original paper by either a color encoding method or a monochromatic encoding method in accordance with the designation of the designating means; determination means for determining whether the image data obtained by reading the original paper is color image data or monochromatic data; and transmission controlling means for decoding the image data once encoded by the color encoding method and stored in the storing means so as to be encoded again by the monochromatic encoding method, thereafter being transmitted when the color transmission is designated by the designating means and the image data is determined to be monochromatic image data by the determination means.
In this case, the determination on whether image data is color data not may be performed by imparting an identifier to either data in advance.
After the image data encoding process for one page or the whole pages by encoding means is ended, the transmission controlling means may execute a decoding process of image data and a re-encoding process thereof.
According to the above-mentioned structure, when transmitting data is color data, the transmission process can be completed for the shortest period of time.
Also, the above-mentioned object can be attained by the color facsimile apparatus comprising determination means for determining a color printing capability of a communication counterpart in the course of the communication procedure; color selection means for extracting only the color component, having the highest composition ratio occupying in the entire image data, from RGB components obtained by reading a color original paper when the determination means determines that the printing capability of the communication counterpart is that only the color printing with a specific single color can be performed; and transmitting means for encoding color component data extracted by the color selection means so as to be sent.
According to the above-mentioned structure, the operator on the transmission side can perform the color transmission without being conscious of the capability of the receiver, and the operator on the receiving side can receive the color data though it is pseudo-color.